Searching for the Hero
by cein
Summary: 7 - Dominic is out of ICU but still has an obstacle to face (final part posted)
1. Chapter 1

Title: Searching for the hero  
Author: Ceindreadh  
Fandom(s): Holby City  
Genre: Gen, hurt/comfort  
Characters: Serena Campbell, Dominic Copeland, Zosia March, Arthur Digby, Guy Self  
Rating: PG-15  
Summary: Zosia blames herself when Dominic is hurt while trying to help her

Disclaimer. I don't own the Holby City characters, I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them in minty fresh condition when I'm finished.  
Notes: The problem with writing for a continuing show is that canon moves on. I've taken S16ep30 "my name is joe" – as my jumping off point (I'm also ignoring the whole Raf-Amy-Harry storyline because I really hate it)

* * *

Serena Campbell had finished her shift, signed off on all her paperwork and was just about to leave the hospital when the alarm was raised.

A distraught Zosia had almost knocked her over in the corridor, before grabbing her by the arm and babbling about a man with a knife.

"Slow down, Zosia," said Serena, as she'd tried to stop the younger woman from pulling her along the corridor. "What man? What knife?"

"In the staff room," said Zosia, "He stabbed Dom...he needs help..."

Serena's face froze, "Doctor Copeland? Have you called Security?"

"They're on their way," said Zosia, "Please, come with me."

By the time they reached the staff room, there was no sign of the attacker, who Zosia said had been the relative of a deceased patient. A security guard was crouched down beside Dominic, who was sitting slumped against a wall, a knife sticking out of his chest.

"Do not touch that knife," ordered Serena as she picked her way around the streaks of blood on the floor around Dominic.

"I wasn't going to, Ma'am," said the guard, moving away. "I just wanted to check was he still breathing."

"Well I'll take over from here, thank you. Get me a backboard and a trolley," ordered Serena as she knelt down beside Dominic. "Dominic, can you hear me?"

Dominic's eyes flickered open, "Ms Campbell...it hurts..." He coughed, producing flecks of blood.

"I'm sure it does," said Serena, "But we'll soon fix that." She spoke with more certainty than she felt. To Zosia who was standing beside them, she said, "Give me your stethoscope, and see what OR is free, and we'll need a chest x-ray." There was no reply from Zosia, who was staring at Dominic, a look of horror on her face. "ZOSIA!" said Serena, "Either help me, or find somebody who can." She took the stethoscope from Zosia and went back to her primary survey. "Decreased breath sounds," she muttered to herself, "No surprise there...but where's all the blood coming from..." Out loud she said, "Dominic, did he stab you anywhere else?"

"Back..." Dominic groaned.

"All right, I'm going to need some help here to move you." By now the staff room was filling up with people and it didn't take long for Serena to locate the wound on Dominic's back, just above his waist. He cried out in pain as he was lowered onto the backboard which had been brought in. "Dominic," said Serena, "I'm going to have to take you into surgery now."

"Am I...am I going to die?"

"Not if I have any say in the matter," said Serena. "Come on people, let's move." She was about to stand when Dominic pulled at her arm. "Yes Dominic?"

"Must be...must perks of the job..." Dominic's eyes closed for a few seconds but he forced them open again. "Getting...getting best surgeon at Holby...patch me up..."

"No need to play me, Dominic?" Serena smiled at him reassuringly. "I'm going to look after you."

* * *

Serena was feeling somewhat less confident as she worked on Dominic in the operating theatre. The knife had been relatively straightforward to remove. Well, as straightforward as a knife in the chest could be. Remove the blade, drain the blood from the pleural cavity and insert a chest tube. But it was the wound to Dominic's back that had given Serena some pause as she examined the scans.

"That's just a little too close to the spine for comfort," she said to the OR nurse. "Page Mr. Self, I'd like him to remove this clot."

* * *

"Serena," said Guy, over the intercom. "This had better be important. The hospital is swarming with police officers. Something about a stabbing on the ward, one of the patients?"

"Not on the ward," said Serena, "The staff room. And it was a patient's relative. He cornered Zosia and stabbed Dominic when he walked in on them."

"Zosia! What happened, is she all right?"

"Doctor March is uninjured," said Serena. "Which is more than can be said for Doctor Copeland."

"Where is Zosia," said Guy, "I need to find her."

"She's with Doctor Digby in the relative's room," said Serena, "He's going to take her home after she's given her statement to the police. Guy, I know you want to be there for her, but right now this young man needs you in your professional capacity. I don't mean to be cold, but Zosia can wait...Dominic can't."

Guy looked over the scans. "It looks like a simple enough blood clot. Should be well within your level of expertise."

"It's rather too close to the spine for my liking," said Serena as she carefully inserted the chest tube. "And since we can't keep our junior doctors safe, we can at least give them the best treatment available." She paused before continuing, "Consider it a perk of their employment."

"And you're sure Zosia is okay?"

"Nothing a stiff drink and good night's rest won't cure," said Serena, "A prescription I intend to follow myself when I've finished here. Now are you going to scrub in and join me or not?"

* * *

"Here you go," said Digby, holding out a paper cup of tea to Zosia, "I put three sugars in it...for the shock."

Zosia took it with shaking hands and sipped it automatically, grimacing slightly at the taste. "Thank you," she said, "Is...is there any news on Dom?"

Digby shook his head as he sat down beside her. "Still in theatre. I'm sure Ms. Campbell will let us know once there's any news."

"There was so much blood..." Zosia shuddered. The sound of the door opening made her look up quickly.

"Excuse me," said Nurse Jackson, "But the police would like to take a full statement from you."

"Oh can't they wait?" said Digby, "I don't think Zosia's up for talking to them right now."

"I can do it," said Zosia, putting down the tea. "You can send them in." She shrugged off Digby's pat of reassurance.

* * *

"So what actually happened?" asked Guy as he expertly made the incision. "Who did this?"

"The relative of a patient, so I understand," said Serena, swabbing away the blood. "He followed Zosia into the staff room, threatened her with a knife. Then when Dominic walked in looking for Zosia, the man just stabbed him in the back."

"Sounds like Doctor Copeland was in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Guy.

* * *

"And had you seen this man before?" asked Police Sergeant Jones.

"Only once, earlier, out on the ward," said Zosia. "I was treating his partner, and she'd passed away a few hours before. He...didn't take the news well." There was some irony, thought Zosia in that after all the times she'd screwed up, all the mistakes she'd made, this time, she'd gone by the book completely. She'd assessed her patient, made a preliminary diagnosis, run the appropriate tests and consulted with Sacha every step of the way. But there had been nothing anybody could have done. Unfortunately Ben Lockhart hadn't believed it and had been singularly unimpressed by Zosia's efforts to explain it to him. So she'd retreated to the staff room only to have him follow her, close the door behind them and pull out a knife, blocking her only route of escape.

"Dominic was looking for me," said Zosia, "He...he walked into the room and Mr. Lockhart was standing behind the door, and he just stabbed him in the back..."

* * *

"Mr. Lockhart," said Zosia, trying to keep her voice steady, "Ben, please, put down the knife and we can talk about this."

There was a noise at the door and Zosia's heart lurched as she saw a figure fumbling at the keypad. "Send them away or I'll kill them," hissed Ben, taking up a position behind the door.

The door finally opened, and Dominic stuck his head into the room, "Zosia? Ah, there you are. Those blood tests on Mrs. Jennison came back. You said you wanted to know immediately."

"I'll be there in a minute," said Zosia, "I just need...I just have something to do first. Okay?"

She could see Dominic looking at her curiously, "Are you all right? You were practically yelling at the lab half an hour ago to get a move on with the bloods." He stepped into the room and the door closed behind him.

"NO!" Zosia felt like she was screaming but she couldn't force a sound through her lips. She wanted to shout at Dominic, to scream at him to watch out, to notice the figure standing behind the door, but all she could do was watch as Ben plunged the knife into Dominic's back. Dominic cried out as he crumpled to the ground and Ben, bloodied knife in his hand advanced inexorably towards Zosia. Paralyzed with fear, Zosia couldn't move. "No," she said, her voice barely audible, "Please...don't..."

And then she saw Ben stumble and trip, falling heavily to the ground only feet away from her the knife still clenched in his outstretched hand. Behind him, Dominic clung to Ben's leg with a bloodied hand. "Dominic!" said Zosia, taking a step towards them.

"RUN!" hissed Dominic, through teeth clenched in pain. "Get help...now!"

* * *

"So I ran," said Zosia, bitterly. "I ran and left Dominic behind, and by the time I got back with Serena, that madman had stabbed him a second time."

Beside her, Digby opened his mouth as if to say something, but quickly closed it again.

"Serena," said Jones, looking at his notes. "That would be?"

"Ms. Campbell," said Digby, "She's in theatre now, operating on Dominic."

"Well I'll need to speak to her as well," said Jones. "Doctor March, is there anything else you can tell me? Anything at all you remember?"

Zosia shook her head, "Just find him, please."

* * *

Guy was just about to close up when Serena was paged over the intercom. "Ms. Campbell, sorry to interrupt, but the police would like to speak to you."

"Tell them to wait until we're finished here," said Serena.

"I can handle it on my own from here," said Guy. "You go and deal with them."

"Page me if there's any problems," said Serena, "And let me know as soon as he's in post-op." She stopped by the trolley where she'd placed the knife that she'd removed from Dominic's chest. "I'm guessing they'll want this as well."

* * *

"Thank you, Ms. Campbell," said Jones as he took the bagged up knife from her. "I'll get this booked into evidence."

"Is there anything else you'll need from me?" asked Serena, looking at her watch. "I believe I've told you everything I know. Not that I actually saw any of the events that transpired in the staff room, only the aftermath."

"Doctor March has given us her statement," said Jones, "And of course we'll need to speak to..." he checked his notes, "Doctor Copeland, as soon as he's out of surgery."

"Well you certainly won't be speaking to him tonight," said Serena, firmly. "He's been through major surgery and he won't be in any condition to give any sort of statement before morning. Maybe not even then if I don't think he's up for it."

"We do need to speak to him," said Jones. "And sooner rather than later."

"I do understand, but right now, my patient's well-being must take precedence. Come back in the morning and we'll see how he is then. And now if you'll excuse me, I must speak to Doctor March myself."

* * *

"Digby, Zosia," said Serena as she walked into the relative's room.

"Ms. Campbell," said Digby, standing quickly. "How is Dominic?"

"Mr. Self should be just closing up about now," said Serena. "Right now he's still in a serious condition, but he's stable. We'll know more in the morning, but barring any complications, he should make a good recovery."

"Why is my father operating?" asked Zosia, her face pale. "I thought you were going to do it?"

"I called Mr. Self in just to be on the safe side," said Serena, "Otherwise he would have checked in on you himself." She noted Zosia's lack of any snide rejoinder about her father. That alone was enough to tell Serena how affected she was by events. "Now, I think you two should both go home and rest."

"No," said Zosia, shaking her head, "I want to see Dom. He...he saved my life."

"He's going to be under sedation for much of the night, Zosia," said Serena. "Go home, and I'll let you know if there's any change."

"She's right," said Digby, "We're no use to Dominic right now."

"I wasn't much use to him earlier," said Zosia, bitterly. Pulling herself together, she said, "Okay, fine. I'll see him in the morning."

Serena watched as the pair left the room and then made her way back to post-op.

* * *

"Ah, Serena," said Guy, as he wrote up his notes beside Dominic's bed. "It doesn't look like that clot caused any damage, but I'll reassess Doctor Copeland in the morning." He handed her the chart. "Poor kid, he's going to be out of action for a while."

"Thank you, Guy," said Serena. "I was just speaking to Zosia. She and Digby are going to head home. If you hurry, you might catch them."

Guy glanced down at his patient, "I should really stay until he's ready to be transferred."

"There's no need," said Serena. "He's my patient as well, and besides, I told him I'd look after him."

To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Searching for the hero 2/7  
Author: Ceindreadh  
Fandom(s): Holby City  
Genre: Gen, hurt/comfort  
Characters: Serena Campbell, Collette Sheward, Dominic Copeland, Zosia March, Guy Self  
Rating: PG-15  
Summary: Serena watches over Dominic in ICU, Zosia visits the next day.

Disclaimer. I don't own the Holby City characters, I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them in minty fresh condition when I'm finished.  
Notes: The problem with writing for a continuing show is that canon moves on. I've taken S16ep30 "my name is joe" – as my jumping off point

* * *

Serena was half asleep in one of the most uncomfortable chairs she'd ever sat in, when she felt somebody touch her lightly on the shoulder. "Collette?" she said, blinking furiously as she tried to focus. "What are you doing here?" The sounds of the ICU machines reminded her of where she was, and she jumped to her feet, almost knocking Collette over.

"Whoa, steady on," said Collette. "I'm working the night shift this week. I'm on my break, so I thought I'd come up and see how our resident have a go hero is doing. Sorry I startled you."

"My fault," said Serena as she moved over to Dominic's bedside. "I was just resting my eyes for a few minutes."

"So how is he doing?"

"As well as can be expected," Serena saw the wry look on Collette's face and smiled, "Sorry, it's the usual platitude I trot out when dealing with friends and relatives who don't really want to hear the gory details." Glancing at the monitors, she felt a sense of relief that there was marked, if small improvement from the displays they had shown a few hours earlier. "The knife did a lot of damage, but hopefully nothing permanent. He has been very lucky."

"Getting a hemopneumothorax and needing a chest drain, doesn't sound too lucky to me," said Collette.

"It does when you think of the alternatives," said Serena, checking the patient notes file. "He could have easily bled out if the chest wound had been a few inches higher. He's lucky Zosia was able to get away to get help."

"I heard that he stopped the guy from getting to Zosia with the knife and then held him down so he couldn't go after her."

"Whatever happened in there, he's paying the price for it now." Serena replaced the notes, yawning involuntarily.

"You should go home," said Collette, sympathetically as they stepped away from the bed. "You know you'll be paged if there's any change."

Serena looked at her watch. She had surgeries scheduled for tomorrow...no, make that later today. Plus several reports that she wanted to finish. Maybe Collette was right, she thought.

A low moan from the direction of the bed drew her attention back to her patient. "Dominic?" said Serena, moving closer to the bed. Dominic's eyes slowly flickered open. "Dominic, can you hear me?"

"Hurts..." groaned Dominic, "Please...take it out..."

"The chest drain?" said Serena, frowning. "I'm sorry Dominic, that's going to have to remain in place for at least a few days. I can give you some more pain relief for now."

"Chest drain?" mumbled Dominic, his eyes half closed. "The knife, take...take it out, please..." There was a note of panic in his voice as his hands moved weakly, pulling at the dressing on his chest. "Hurts...take it out!" His rising agitation was reflected in the ICU monitors.

"Oh no you don't," said Collette, gently but firmly removing Dominic's hands from the dressing. "Serena?"

"Doctor Copeland," said Serena, in her most authoritative voice. "I need you to open your eyes and look at me." She waited until Dominic opened his eyes and focussed on her. "Do you know who I am?"

Dominic nodded weakly, "Serena...Ms...Ms. Campbell."

"That's right. I operated on you, removed the knife and put in a chest tube," said Serena. "And I'll thank you not to undo all my hard work." In a more gentle tone, she continued, "You've been through quite an ordeal tonight. It's going to take a bit of time to get you back on your feet, but you will get there. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ms. Campbell," said Dominic. He could barely keep his eyes open, but every time they closed, all he could see was the knife sticking out of his chest.  
"Do you remember what happened?" asked Serena.

Dominic frowned, "I don't know...something hit me...hit my back...then the knife was in my chest..." He shuddered involuntarily and then gasped. "Zosia?"

"Zosia's fine," said Serena, quickly. "The man who stabbed you, he didn't hurt her. By all accounts, that was down to your intervention. You're quite the hero in her eyes."

"Hero?" Dominic smiled, "I...I like the sound of that..." He shifted slightly in the bed, and then grimaced at the tugging in his side. "Chest drain?"

"I should be able to remove it in a few days," said Serena. "For now, the best thing is to rest." She was about to step away, when Dominic caught her by the hand.

"Thank...thank you, Ms. Campbell," said Dominic.

"You're welcome," said Serena, squeezing his hand gently. "Now rest." There was a slight nod from Dominic as his eyes closed. Serena waited until she was sure he was sleeping before letting go of his hand.

* * *

First thing the next morning, Zosia made her way to the ICU. Early though she was, she wasn't the first visitor of the day.

"Good morning, Zosia," said Guy, as he left Dominic's room. "How are you this morning?"

"Fine," said Zosia. "Why shouldn't I be? I'm not the one who got stabbed."

"No, but a friend of yours did, and right in front of you. I'm no psychiatrist, but that sort of thing has to have an effect on you." He paused before continuing, "Are you working today?"

"Of course," said Zosia. "Sasha's already down one F1, I can't bail on him as well."

"Don't be silly," said Guy, "After what happened, nobody will fault you if you need to take some time. And before you say anything, I'd be saying the same thing if it were Digby or Dominic standing in front of me."

Zosia shook her head, "I need to be busy. I can't just sit at home...thinking..." She hesitated before continuing, "Thank you for last night, giving us a lift home."

"Maybe next time you might even invite me in," said Guy with a smile, "I'd quite like to see what sort of accommodation my daughter has found herself."

Zosia shot him a glance which said 'don't push your luck', as effectively as any words.

"The police are still looking for Lockhart," said Guy. "Apparently, they now believe that he may have been the cause of his partner's injuries." He saw the expression on Zosia's face and continued quickly, "Security have been alerted. If he shows his face around here again, they'll stop him. Personally, after what he did, I can only wish they had the means to stop him permanently."

"I'm sure that Dominic will appreciate the depth of your feelings."

"Zosia!" said Guy, a note of exasperation in his voice. "Can't we just call a truce for one minute? Life's too short...you could have been seriously injured, even killed last night if Dominic hadn't stepped in."

Zosia shuddered involuntarily, trying to blot the image from her mind of Dominic collapsing like a marionette whose strings had been cut. Finally she said, "Tuesday next."

"I don't follow," said Guy, frowning.

"Tuesday next, my shift finishes at 7pm. I may need a lift home afterwards. Bring a housewarming gift."

"Thank you, Zosia," said Guy. Inwardly he resolved to move heaven and earth to make sure he'd be free by 7pm on Tuesday.

"I'll see you then," Zosia started to move towards the door, but Guy stepped in front of her. "What?"

"I know you want to see Dominic, but he's resting now and it's probably best not to disturb him."

"So much for calling a truce," snapped Zosia.

"Now stop behaving like a child!" Guy took a deep breath before continuing in a more gentle tone, "Zosia, I am not trying to antagonize you. Right now, I'm speaking as Dominic's doctor, not your father, not even as the CEO. I know he's your friend, but I want you to think like a doctor."

"I just want to see him," said Zosia, "I need...I just want to see for myself that he's going to be okay."

Guy looked at his watch, "All right. You can go in, but only for ten minutes." Zosia started to protest but Guy put his hand up to stop her. "Ten minutes, and if he's asleep, you're not to disturb him. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," said Zosia, and then with an effort, "Thank you."

* * *

Zosia sucked in her breath sharply when she saw Dominic lying there. Paler than she'd ever seen him before, a large dressing on his chest and tubes and I.V. lines and leads all over him. But she had to admit that it was far better seeing him like this than it had been to look at him the previous night with blood on his hands and a knife in his chest. Pulling up a chair, she sat down beside the bed. "Dominic?" said Zosia in a voice low enough not to wake him if he was asleep. "Dom, it's Zosia."

There was no reaction for a few seconds and then Dominic's eyes flickered open and he turned his head to look at Zosia. "Hey," he mumbled. "Come to visit...visit your knight in shining armour?"

"Something like that," said Zosia, smiling. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," said Dominic, eyes closing. He opened them again and added, "On some pretty damn good drugs..." He smiled. "What about you?"

"I'm fine...thanks to you."

"Good...because you look...look like hell."

"Oh thanks very much!"

Dominic laughed, then grimaced in pain, "Damn...drugs not *that* good..."

"Why did you do it, Dominic?" asked Zosia, "You risked your life to save mine. Why?" There was no answer from the bed, and Zosia could see that Dominic's eyes were closed again. "Dominic?" Sighing inwardly, Zosia looked at her watch. The ten minutes she'd been given were almost up, and her shift was due to start in half an hour. "I'll come back and see how you're doing later," she said, squeezing Dominic's hand gently before she walked away.

If she had looked back, she would have seen Dominic watching her leave, a troubled look on his face.

to be continued


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Searching for the hero  
Author: Ceindreadh  
Fandom(s): Holby City  
Genre: Gen, hurt/comfort  
Characters: Serena Campbell, Dominic Copeland, Zosia March, Arthur Digby,

Rating: PG-15  
Summary: Dominic starts to recover from his injuries, but what is he hiding?

Disclaimer. I don't own the Holby City characters, I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them in minty fresh condition when I'm finished.  
Notes: The problem with writing for a continuing show is that canon moves on. I've taken S16ep30 "my name is joe" – as my jumping off point

* * *

"Excuse me, Doctor Digby, isn't it?" Digby turned around to see Sergeant Jones.

"Sergeant Jones," said Digby, "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm looking to speak to Doctor Copeland. Can you direct me to him?"

"Oh he's up in ICU," said Digby. "I can take you there." He escorted Jones to the ICU and then excused himself, "If you'll just wait here a minute, I'll see if he's able to speak to you."

"We really do need to take his statement, Doctor Digby."

"I know," said Digby, "But Ms. Campbell did leave instructions that any visits were to be strictly limited."

* * *

Dominic was fiddling with the dressing on his chest when he heard the door open. Looking up, he smiled and said "Digby, you came to visit me. I'm touched."

"I'm actually here with the police," said Digby, apologetically.

The smile faded from Dominic's face, "The police? What...what do they want with me?"

"They just need to get a statement from you. About what happened last night," said Digby. "Look, if you're not feeling up to it, I can tell the Sergeant to come back another time."

Dominic shook his head. "No...it's...it's okay," he said. "They'll only keep coming back and getting in the way until I speak to them." With a sigh, he added, "You'd better send him in."

"Do you want me to stay?" asked Digby, "Then if it looks like he's tiring you out, I can send him away."

"Would you? Thanks Digby," said Dominic as he pushed himself up to a more seated position.

Digby opened the door to let Jones in. "Doctor Copeland has been through a serious surgery and he's still quite weak," said Digby. "Please keep your questions to a minimum."

Jones took out his notebook, "Doctor Copeland."

"Please, call me Dominic."

"Dominic," said Jones, "Can you tell me what happened last night?"

Dominic took a breath, "I...I was looking for Zosia...Doctor March. There were blood tests back for one of her patients. I thought she might be in the staff room, so I went in...Zosia...Zosia was standing there..."

* * *

"Zosia," said Dominic, as he pushed open the door to the staff room. "Ah, there you are. Those blood tests on Mrs. Jennison came back. You said you wanted to know immediately." Zosia was standing motionless at the other side of the room. "Hey, is something wrong?" Dominic stepped into the room, the door closing behind him. "Zosia?" Out of the corner of his eye, Dominic saw a movement to his left but before he could say or do anything, he felt a sharp pain in his lower back. The room started spinning around him as he collapsed to the ground.

* * *

"I was on the ground," said Dominic staring at his hands which were clenched into fists, "And I saw somebody walking past me."

"Mr. Lockhart?"

"Well I didn't think to ask his name," said Dominic. He took a breath, gritting his teeth slightly, "I just reached out...tripped him up..." He frowned, "And then, the next thing I remember clearly was Serena...Ms. Campbell. I was sitting against the wall, and Ms. Campbell was there." Dominic looked up, "And that was when I knew everything was going to be all right."

"You don't remember anything in between that?" asked Jones, as he continued to write on his notepad.

"Not really, I'm afraid it's all a bit of a blur," said Dominic. "I'm sorry; I don't think I can tell you anything else."

"He's lying" The thought flashed into Digby's head before he could stop it. Digby wasn't sure why he felt so certain about it. Well, apart from his previous experience with Dominic and his 'fluid' concept of the truth. But there was just something about Dom as he'd said he couldn't remember, something about his whole attitude as he'd said it, that just screamed 'liar' at Digby. "But why?" thought Digby, "Why would he lie about not remembering? What exactly happened after Zosia got away?"

Lost in thought, Digby almost didn't hear Jones wrapping up the interview. "Well thank you for your help, Dominic. Here's my card. If you remember anything more about last night, please call me."

Dominic nodded as he took the card, "Do you think you'll find him? I hate to think he's still out there."

"I'm sure we will. I'll see myself out. Goodbye."

"Goodbye," said Dominic, echoed by a distracted Digby as Jones left the room.

Once the door had closed behind Jones, Digby managed to pull himself together. "I really should get back to the ward," said Digby. "Will you be all right?"

"I will," said Dominic, settling himself more comfortably. "And Digby." Digby turned back to look at him. "Thank you. You're a real friend."

Digby forced a smile, but in truth, he was feeling like anything but a friend as he walked back to Keller. He wondered if he should go after Jones and say something. "But no," thought Digby. "I've no proof. Maybe I'm just being distrustful of Dom because of all the lies he's already told. Maybe he was just embarrassed because he couldn't stop Lockhart from getting away. Or maybe he just doesn't think what really happened was 'interesting' enough. Still, you can't get much more interesting than two stab wounds." Lost in thought, Digby didn't ever realise he was back on the ward until he nearly bumped into Serena.

"Ah, Doctor Digby," said Serena in an icy tone and a frown on her face. "So good of you to join us."

"Sorry Ms. Campbell," said Digby. "I was just upstairs with Dominic. The police wanted to interview him."

Serena's face softened immediately and her tone was one of concern as she said, "How did Dominic fare? I hope you didn't let the police tire him out."

Digby shook his head, "No, Ms. Campbell. I mean, he was a bit tired afterwards, but he wanted to do it."

"Good," said Serena. "Well I'll be checking on him later anyway. Now, tell me about our newest arrival to Keller."

* * *

Zosia pushed open the door to Dominic's room and smiled as she saw he was sitting up and looking a lot more alert than he had been that morning.

"Zosia!" said Dominic, a smile on his face. "Thank goodness. I'm bored out of my mind here! Come in, sit down, tell me all the gossip."

"Well you've certainly perked up a bit since this morning," said Zosia, sitting down on the bed. "I hope you're not going to fall asleep on me again."

"Sorry about that, Zosia," said Dominic, "I felt really bad when I woke up and you were gone. Forgive me, please?"

Zosia squeezed his hand, "Of course I forgive you. Honestly, after what you've been through..." She hesitated before continuing, "I'm the one who should be apologizing. If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't have been hurt."

"Oh don't go on about it Zosia," said Dominic quickly, "It wasn't your fault some nutter decided to get an early start on Halloween. Let's just put it behind us, talk about something fun. Did you miss me on the ward today?"

"I can't put it behind me," said Zosia. "You saved my life. You could have died doing it."

"But I didn't," said Dominic. "It happened, you're fine, I'll be okay in a few weeks. Can't we just leave well enough alone?" He tried to take a deep breath to calm his racing pulse, but the chest tube dragged at his side and he barely stifled a groan of pain. "So tell me about your day? I mean...I'd tell you about mine...but there's not much to tell...woke up, fell asleep...nurses woke me up for obs, then they told me I needed my rest. Pretty...pretty dull really..."

"A bit more interesting than my day," said Zosia. "Sacha had me writing up case studies and filing paperwork for most of my shift. The most interesting thing I did was treat an ingrown toenail."

"Sounds like fun," said Dominic, relieved to have gotten her off the subject. He managed to keep the topic away from the previous night until Zosia looked at her watch and said she had to leave.

"Come back soon," said Dominic as Zosia hugged him gently, "Bring wine!"

"Not a chance," said Zosia, smiling. "But when you're back on your feet, I'll buy a whole crate." She hesitated before continuing, "Dominic, I know you don't want to talk about last night...but it would really help me if you would. I need to understand *why*..." She saw Dominic tense up and added quickly, "You don't have to talk about it until you're ready, but you're the only person who can help me understand it all."

Dominic forced a smile on his face, "Maybe in a few days," he said. "When I'm not so tired..."

"Okay, goodnight Dominic."

"Goodnight, Zosia," said Dominic as she left the room. Once the door had closed, Dominic lowered the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Why can't she leave well enough alone?" he asked himself. "Why can't she just accept it and move on?" One hand moved to the dressing on his chest, patting it gently, reassuring himself that there was only a dressing there. "Why?" He closed his eyes and slept.

to be continued


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Searching for the hero 4/7  
Author: Ceindreadh  
Fandom(s): Holby City  
Genre: Gen, hurt/comfort  
Characters: Serena Campbell, Dominic Copeland, Harry Tressler  
Rating: PG-15  
Summary: Dominic has an unexpected visitor. Serena finds out what's worrying him.

Disclaimer. I don't own the Holby City characters, I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them in minty fresh condition when I'm finished.  
Notes: The problem with writing for a continuing show is that canon moves on. I've taken S16ep30 "my name is joe" – as my jumping off point (I'm also ignoring the whole Raf-Amy-Harry storyline because I really hate it)

* * *

The next afternoon, Dominic awoke from a fitful sleep to find he wasn't alone. "Oh God, I've had a relapse, died and now I'm in hell."

"And hello to you too, Dominic," said Harry Tressler, a smile on his face. "Don't let Serena hear you make comments like that, she'd be most offended to know you'd even thought of dying on her watch."

"Why are you here, Harry?" asked Dominic. He brushed absently at the bandage on his chest.

"Well yesterday, I was a little late back from lunch, and I told Raf that'd I'd been visiting our hero in residence. So I figured it would be a good idea to actually, you know drop in and say hello."

"And what will happen if I tell Mr. Di Lucca that I haven't seen you?"

Harry shrugged, "I'll just tell him that Ms. Campbell has you on so many drugs, you don't know who's been visiting you." He smiled.

"Oh great," said Dominic, shifting restlessly in the bed. A sudden spasm of pain made him gasp.

Harry was on his feet in an instant, moving over to the side of the bed. "Are you all right?" he asked with genuine concern in his voice. "Do you need something for the pain?"

Dominic shook his head, "It's...it's okay," he said as the pain eased off a bit, "It's just...it's just when I move suddenly, it catches me a bit."

"Well you know the solution to that," said Harry as he sat back down. "Don't make any sudden moves!"

"You know, maybe it's the drugs talking, but that was almost funny."

"Or maybe you're just learning to appreciate my fine wit...FiFi!" Harry watched as Dominic's face fell. "What's wrong?"

Dominic shrugged, "Nothing...it's just..." He sighed, "I think you're going to be calling me FiFi for another year." He saw the puzzled look on Harry's face. "I have exams in a few weeks, my end of year assessments are coming up. I'm already behind on my practical experience and presentations. I'm probably going to have to repeat the whole year...again." He thumped the bed in frustration.

"Surely they'll be able to make some allowances for you?" said Harry. "I mean, it's not your fault you'll be out of action for so long. For goodness sake, you saved Zosia's life. Surely Mr. Self can pull a few strings..."

"No!" said Dominic, "I mean...I need to pass this year on my own merit...I don't want special treatment." He took a breath, "I don't want people thinking I'm not good enough to do this." He sighed, "I guess I'll just have to be an F1 for another year."

"Well don't worry about it for now," said Harry, "I'm sure it'll all work out."

Dominic just nodded. He only half listened as Harry continued on about how he did have somewhat of an ulterior motive for his visit.

"It does look good for my image, visiting an injured colleague. Especially when they're a hero like you. Nurses tend to like that sort of thing. And I don't get the chance to meet the Nurses up here as often as I'd like."

"Glad to be of assistance with your love life," said Dominic, rolling his eyes. "Just please don't bore me with the sordid details."

Harry rambled on for a few more minutes, talking about anything and everything he could think of to try and cheer Dominic up. Finally he looked at his watch, "Oops, time to go. Just remember what I said, Dominic."

"You were here visiting me yesterday," said Dominic, "Don't worry, I'm not going to drop you in it."

"Actually, I meant about things working out," said Harry. "Don't worry about it for now."

* * *

"Come in," said Serena in answer to the knock at her door. She looked up from her paperwork to see Harry standing there.

"Is this a good time?" asked Harry.

"Not really, Doctor Tressler," said Serena as she searched for a chart on her desk, finally finding it under a patient numbers report. "Is this important?"

"It's about Doctor Copeland."

Serena frowned, but beckoned Harry in. "Sit down, Doctor Tressler."

"I went to see Dominic today," said Harry as he sat down. "He's stressing out a bit over his end of year review. He thinks he won't get his case work completed or be able to pass his exams. He's worried he'll have to repeat the year."

Serena nodded, "That is always a possibility if he doesn't meet the requirements."

"But that's not fair," said Harry, "It's not his fault that all this happened."

"Life isn't always fair, Harry," said Serena, gently.

"But surely there's something we can do to help?"

"You want to help Doctor Copeland? I didn't think the two of you exactly saw eye to eye the last time you worked together."

"Oh we bumped heads a bit," said Harry, "But he's not a bad guy when you get to know him. Besides, he shouldn't have to lose out just because he did the right thing."

"I completely agree," said Serena, "And I'll speak to Mr. Levy in the morning, see what work Dominic has to finish before the deadline. As for his exams, well I'm sure a bit of extra tuition from you could help him there." Serena caught the look on Harry's face. "Being able to work with and mentor junior colleagues is an important part of the attributes required to be a Registrar and eventually a Consultant. It shows good team leadership and would certainly add a positive slant to your skill set." Serena had to hide a smile as she watched Harry make the connections. Who needed sticks when you had carrots at your disposal?

"Well when you put it that way, Ms. Campbell," said Harry, finally. "I'd be glad to help."

"I thought you would."

* * *

The next day, Serena made her rounds as usual.

"Breathe in," she ordered Dominic as she held the stethoscope to his back. "And out...and in..."

"Well, what's the verdict?" asked Dominic as he was finally able to lie back against the bed.

"You're coming along nicely," said Serena as she updated the charts. "I should be able to remove the chest tube in another day or two."

"I can't wait," said Dominic. "Every time I move, I feel like I have to touch it, to see it hasn't fallen out."

"Excuse me, young man," said Serena, with mock anger in her voice, "My chest tubes, do *not* fall out!" She signed off on her notes and sat down on the chair beside Dominic. "Now, a little birdie tells me you're worried about your end of year exams?"

"Doctor Tressler has a mouth as big as his ego," said Dominic.

"Well I won't disagree with you there," said Serena. "But I take it he's not wrong?" She saw Dominic nod and continued, "You should have said something to me about it. I did tell you I was willing to open doors."

Dominic shifted restlessly on the bed, "I know you said that, and I do appreciate it. But I don't want people saying I'm only an F2 because somebody pulled the right strings. I'll be fine. Once I get out of here, I'll hit the books; do a few extra shifts until I can catch up on my procedures..."

"And then land yourself back here as a patient through overdoing things," interrupted Serena. "I don't think so, Dominic." She held up a hand to stave off Dominic's attempts to protest. "Now hear me out. I've spoken to Mr. Levy. We've explained the situation to the medical council and requested that you be allowed additional time to complete your required procedures and presentations."

"So I might not have to repeat the year?" Dominic could hardly believe it.

"That will depend on their decision, and of course you'll still have to get through the exams," said Serena, smiling at him. "But Doctor Tressler has kindly agreed to provide a bit of additional tuition to that end."

"Harry?" said Dominic in disbelief, "Harry volunteered for extra work?"

"Once the benefits to his career were pointed out, he was more than willing to help," said Serena, "And of course one way to improve your knowledge of a subject is to teach it to another person, so it's to his benefit as well."

"Thank you Ms. Campbell," said Dominic, "I...I don't know what to say."

"It's all part of the service," said Serena. She glanced quickly at her watch, "Now, I have other patients to check on, so if there's nothing else." She saw Dominic bite down on his lip as if he wanted to say something. "Is there something else?"

Dominic nodded slowly. "Ms. Campbell...you believe in Doctor-Patient confidentiality, don't you?"

Serena looked at him closely, "Of course I do; it's one of the cornerstones of the profession."

"So if I told you something, it wouldn't go any further?"

"In so far as it relates to your medical condition, anything you tell me is confidential." She saw Dominic look away and continued quickly, "But rest assured, that *anything* you tell me in confidence, I will not divulge lightly."

Dominic stared at his hands which were clenched around the bedclothes. Finally he spoke, "I...I lied..."

"Lied about what, Dominic?" asked Serena gently.

"To the police...when I told them that most of what happened in the staff room was a bit hazy." He took a deep breath and looked Serena in the eye, "I remember *everything*..."

"So what did happen?" asked Serena.

* * *

The room started spinning around Dominic as he collapsed to the ground. The pain was worse than anything he had ever experienced. He reached back towards the source of the pain, but all he could feel was a gaping wound. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement...a figure walking past him and he grabbed at them with a bloodstained hand, tripping them up. Dominic didn't know who it was, but all he could see was the knife in their hand as they fell to the ground.

"Dominic!" He heard a voice screaming his name, but it sounded as if it was coming from a long way away. Looking up, he could see Zosia coming towards him, coming towards him and the man with a knife in his hand. "RUN!" hissed Dominic, through teeth clenched in pain. "Get help...now!"

There was a blur of movement and Dominic could hear rapid footsteps moving away. All his attention was focused on the man with the knife.

"You're as bad as she is," growled the man with the knife.

He turned and swiped the knife at Dominic, who had to let go and push himself away to try and avoid it. Dominic scrambled backwards on the floor, trying to put as much distance between himself and the knife as possible, and found himself backed up against the wall, as the man advanced on him, knife in hand.

"Please...don't..." Dominic begged as he came nearer, "You don't have to do this..."

"You Doctors, you're all the same. She's dead, and you're going to pay..."

Using the wall for leverage, Dominic managed to push himself to his feet. He glanced at the door, but it had swung closed after Zosia and he knew there was no way he'd be able to reach it. "Please, don't do this..."

The man was standing in front of him now, his face eerily calm as he reached out with his free hand, grabbing Dominic by the throat, "This is for Sara," he hissed. Dominic didn't even have a chance to try and struggle before the knife was plunged into his chest. He slumped back against the wall and slid to the floor, barely aware that the man had left the room without a backward glance.  
The pain of the first wound had been bad, this one was a thousand times worse; Dominic felt like he was being crushed, but he couldn't get enough breath into his lungs to scream. He could taste blood in his mouth and it didn't need medical training to know that this was bad.

There was the sound of running footsteps, this time coming closer. Dominic tried to call out, but all that came out was a low moan.

"Sir, can you hear me?" Dominic almost cried with relief as he saw a security guard approach him and crouch down beside him. "Stay calm, help is on the way." Dominic closed his eyes, only opening them again when he heard Serena's voice.  
"Dominic, can you hear me?"

* * *

"And then you were there," said Dominic, his voice trembling slightly, "And I knew you wouldn't let me die."

"So why didn't you tell all this to the police?" asked Serena. "I mean, I can understand that it's not a pleasant memory, and certainly not one you want to relive."

"Because when I came round from the surgery, everybody was treating me like this big hero. And I didn't...I didn't want to have to tell them that I wasn't..."

"But you stopped Lockhart from getting to Zosia," said Serena, "You gave her the chance to get away."

Dominic shook his head, "When I grabbed him, tripped him...I didn't know who he was...I didn't even know he was the one who'd stabbed me until he was on the ground and I saw the knife. I just...I just knew I was bleeding and I needed somebody, *anybody* to help me. I don't think I even remembered Zosia was in the room until I heard her call my name."

"But you still told her to run, and held onto Lockhart so he couldn't follow her."

"Because I knew if he got to her as well, then I might bleed out before anybody found us." Dominic looked Serena straight in the eye. "I didn't tell her to run so she could save herself...I wanted her to run so she could find somebody to save *me*..." He sighed heavily, "And now Mr. Self is treating me like a long lost son, and I figured at first that it's no harm to have the Chief of staff owing me a favour, but it just seems wrong. I should be milking this for all it's worth...but I don't want to...what's wrong with me?"

Serena smiled reassuringly and patted Dominic on the hand, "Doctor Copeland, I do believe you're finally growing a conscience."

"I don't suppose you could surgically remove it for me," said Dominic, forcing a smile.

"Not a chance," said Serena. "Now, do you want my advice?"

"Please."

"The first thing you need to do is speak to the police again." She saw the look on Dominic's face. "They're on your side Dominic."

"They won't be when they find out I lied to them."

"Oh I'd hardly call it a lie as such," said Serena, "Given the seriousness of your injuries, the blood you'd lost, not to mention the amount of drugs you were on at the time you made your statement, it's hardly surprising that your memory was a bit...cloudy when you spoke to them earlier. And I will have no hesitation in confirming that to anybody who asks."

"Thank you, Ms. Campbell," said Dominic, the relief evident on his face

"As for anybody else, if you don't want to talk about what happened, that is up to you. But Dominic, sometimes it *is* a good idea to talk about these things, especially if they're bothering you."

"It's not bothering me," said Dominic quickly, "I've hardly thought about it, really."

Serena raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? So your pulse rate wasn't elevated at all during our discussion? And you didn't touch your dressing three times while you were talking, just to confirm that the knife wasn't still in your chest?"

Dominic looked at Serena with something approaching awe, "Hello Sherlock!"

"Your friends want to help you, Dominic," said Serena, with a smile, "As do I. Now if you don't want to talk to about it, I won't push you, however I would advise you to speak to a counsellor about what happened. The psychological effects of a trauma like this can sometimes be just as debilitating as the physical ones."

"But what should I tell Zosia? How do I tell her I'm not the hero she thinks I am?"

"That is I'm afraid something you'll have to figure out yourself. As for what you feel may have motivated your actions in the staff room that night," added Serena. "Whatever your intentions, you most likely *did* save Zosia's life, even if just by being in the right place at the right time. Remember that." She stood up, "Now rest. I didn't put you back together so you could wallow in self pity. Self preservation is an inbuilt instinct, not a crime. You've done nothing wrong."

To be continued


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Searching for the hero - 5/7  
Author: Ceindreadh  
Fandom(s): Holby City  
Genre: Gen, hurt/comfort  
Characters: Serena Campbell, Dominic Copeland, Zosia March, Harry Tressler, Raf di Lucca  
Rating: PG-15  
Summary: Things are looking up for Dominic, until Zosia comes to visit

Disclaimer. I don't own the Holby City characters, I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them in minty fresh condition when I'm finished.  
Notes: The problem with writing for a continuing show is that canon moves on. I've taken S16ep30 "my name is joe" – as my jumping off point (I'm also ignoring the whole Raf-Amy-Harry storyline because I really hate it)

* * *

Dominic slept well that night and woke the next morning feeling better than he had in days. His good mood lasted through his second interview with the police. Clearly prompted by Serena, who sat in on the interview with him, Sergeant Jones had made no adverse comments on Dominic's request to amend his statement. Jones also told him that Lockhart had finally been located and taken into custody. That news alone would have been enough to make Dominic's day, as he hadn't realised until then just how much he'd feared the prospect of Lockhart returning to finish the job.

The interview left Dominic feeling somewhat drained, but the relief of having gotten the full story off his chest more than made up for his exhaustion. Serena had reiterated her advice about speaking to a counsellor, although Dominic wasn't sure he was ready to go that far.

Dominic's good mood lasted through the by now almost familiar routine of boring hospital food and even more boring hospital procedures. Even having his dressings changed and the I.V. line moved couldn't dampen his spirits.

His good mood lasted right up to the point when Zosia announced that she had picked a topic for her Psychology presentation, "A psychological breakdown of heroism under adverse conditions," announced Zosia.

The blood drained from Dominic's face as Zosia continued. "An in-depth study as to what makes an ordinary individual, no offence Dominic; put his life on the line to save somebody else. You'll be the cornerstone of course," she added, her voice full of enthusiasm. "I'll do a detailed profile of you, your history." She saw the look on Dominic's face, "No names of course, unless you want to pick a pseudonym for yourself."

"Zosia," said Dominic, "Please, don't do this. Can't you pick another topic? Maybe do a profile of Digby, the pressures faced by an F2 trying to live up his 'Doctor of the year' award. Or...or what about the way people react badly to bad news? We certainly get plenty of that in here!"

"Don't be silly, Dominic," said Zosia. "I've already drawn up an outline and proposal. I just have to get Sacha to sign off on it and then I can start. I've found some similar studies which I can build on." She handed Dominic some printouts and reports which he let fall to the bed.

Dominic's mouth was dry and his heart pounding so loudly he was almost surprised Zosia couldn't hear it. He tried again, "I don't really think I'd be able to help you. I don't remem..." He bit down on the words, aware of how easy it would be to continue with Zosia at least, the lie that he didn't remember enough about the incident to be of any help to her. But the problem was, that the truth would come out eventually, especially now that Lockhart was in police custody and likely to stand trial. He tried again, "Zosia, what happened in the staff room, I really *really* don't want to talk about it. I'd much rather just put it behind me and forget all about it."

"But talking about it will help," said Zosia. "Once you've deconstructed what happened, analyzed your thought processes, you can accept it and move on."

"NO!" said Dominic, with more force than he'd intended. He clutched the bedclothes tightly as he forced himself to speak in a calmer voice. "There isn't anything to analyze, I reacted...I...I wasn't thinking..."

"But you have to have some idea of what was going through your head?" Zosia started pacing up and down, "Dominic, you saved my life. I need to understand *why* you did what you did."

"Just shut up about it!" snapped Dominic, finally. "There's nothing *to* understand. I wasn't trying to save your life. I was trying to save *mine* not yours. And now I wish that I hadn't tried to stop him. I wish that I'd just let him stab you..." Dominic regretted the words as soon as he'd said them, but it was too late to take them back.

Zosia's face froze. "How can you say that?"

"Zosia, I didn't mean..."

Zosia didn't say another word, just picked up her notes and started to turn away. "Zosia, please, don't leave!" Dominic pushed back the bed clothes and pushed himself to his feet, "I can explain..." He barely managed a single step before his legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground. There was a sharp pain in his side, and when Dominic put his hand there, it came away covered in blood. "Not again," he thought, the room spinning around him as he struggled to remain conscious, "Not again."

* * *

Harry smiled at the nurse as she walked away. He'd shown up on the ward a few minutes earlier, planning to make a quick visit to Dominic before his shift started. The lovely Olivia had told him that Doctor March was already visiting, and since Dominic's visitors were still being restricted, she had been more than happy to be chatted up by Harry while he waited for Zosia to leave.

Glancing at his watch, Harry realised that he wouldn't have time to wait much longer. "I'll just pop my head in," he thought, "Say a quick hello and then go to work." As Harry approached the door, he could hear raised voices and he hesitated, wondering whether he should interrupt or not. Curiosity won out and he pushed the door open just enough so he could see inside.

Zosia was approaching the door, her face like thunder. Harry was about to say hello when behind her, he saw Dominic collapsed on the floor. "Dominic!" Harry pushed past Zosia and hurried to Dominic's side. "What have you done to yourself? Let me see." He gently but firmly pulled Dominic's hand away from his side and sucked in his breath sharply at the sight of blood seeping around the dislodged chest tube. "Okay, Dominic, I'm going to get you patched up in a minute." Looking up, Harry called to Zosia, "Doctor March, page Ms. Campbell and get me a suture trolley and replacement chest tube."

Dominic cried out in pain as he was lifted back into his bed. An oxygen mask was placed over his face, and he could hear Harry relaying orders to other people in the room.

"Dominic, can you hear me?" Dominic forced his eyes open and saw Harry standing over him.  
"Your chest tube has become detached," said Harry, "It's going to have to be removed and replaced. Ms. Campbell is on her way, but I'm just going to give you a shot of lidocaine to numb the area while we get you prepped."

"Theatre?" asked Dominic.

"No, I think we can manage it here." Harry patted Dominic on the shoulder, "Don't worry, I've done so many of these, I could handle it in my sleep. Just as well, because I did have a late night last night." He yawned theatrically. "Remind me to tell you all about it later."

"Not keeping you up, are we, Doctor Tressler?" Serena's voice cut through the room.

"Ah, Ms. Campbell," said Harry, "Doctor Copeland had a little bit of bother with his chest tube. I was just about to replace it for him, unless you want to take over."

"I see," said Serena. "Well don't let me stop you."

Harry nodded, "All right Dominic, I'm sure you know how this works by now, but I'm going to talk you through every step of the procedure. Think of it as the first of your extra tuition." Harry grinned as Dominic made a face at him, but as soon as he picked up the syringe, he was all business.

Serena stood back and watched as Harry performed the procedure, nodding approvingly from time to time as true to his word, he kept up a running commentary on his work. She wasn't sure if it was merely an attempt to keep his patient calm or if he was trying to impress her with his competence, but either way, he was doing a good job.

"Good work, Doctor Tressler," said Serena as Harry placed the final few sutures to keep the tube in place. "Doctor Copeland, how are you feeling?"

"Better now," mumbled Dominic. "Thank you."

"Good," said Serena, "Now will somebody tell me exactly what happened here? And do not say your chest tube simply 'fell out'!"

Neither Dominic nor Zosia opened their mouths. Serena looked at Harry, "Doctor Tressler?"

"I think that Dominic just overdid things a bit, Ms. Campbell. I'm sure it won't happen again. I'll make sure it doesn't."

"Very well then," said Serena. "In that case, Harry, I believe we're both due on AAU. And Doctor Copeland, dislodge your chest tube again, and next time you can replace it yourself, do we understand each other?"

"Yes Ms. Campbell," said Dominic weakly.

"I'll be with you in a minute, Ms. Campbell," said Harry, "I just want to tidy up a bit here."

Serena nodded and then left the room. Harry waited until the door was closed behind her and then turned to Zosia and Dominic. "Okay, I don't know what exactly happened between the pair of you and frankly the squabbling of a pair of F1s doesn't really interest me. So I want the two of you to shake hands and make up."

Zosia deliberately folded her arms. Dominic glanced at her and then looked away.

"Fine," said Harry, a note of exasperation in his voice. "Sort it out yourselves. Doctor March, do I have to ban you from Doctor Copeland's room or will you both be able to conduct yourselves in a more civil manner next time?"

"You don't have to ban me," said Zosia, "Because I won't be coming back here, ever." She stormed off.

"Well that's sorted then," said Harry with mock cheerfulness. He looked at his watch, "And now, I had better get to AAU. Will you be all right now, FiFi?"

"I'm fine," said Dominic, "And *don't* call me FiFi!"

"Now that's more like it," said Harry as he left the room.

* * *

"Glad you condescended to join us, Doctor Tressler," said Raf as Harry walked into AAU. "What was it this time? Helping a little old lady across the road? Rescuing a cat from a tree? Or visiting your new best friend, Doctor Copeland?"

"Actually Doctor Tressler was performing a procedure for me on one of my patients," said Serena who had come up behind Raf while he was speaking. "Harry, a word in my office if you please."

Harry grinned smugly at Raf as he followed Serena to her office. "What can I do for you, Ms. Campbell?" he asked as they both sat down.

"For starters, you can tell me what really happened upstairs."

Harry shrugged, "I can't really say, Ms. Campbell."

"Can't or won't," said Serena. "Harry, I'm not asking you to break any confidences, but if there's something going on that will affect Dominic's recovery, I need to be made aware of it."

"I honestly don't know exactly what happened," said Harry, all serious now. "All I know is that Zosia was leaving the room, I think they'd been arguing about something, and Dominic got up to try and stop her leaving." He hesitated before continuing, "I did hear Dominic say something about how he wished Zosia had been stabbed instead of him."

"And that will go no further than this office," said Serena, firmly. "Do we understand each other?"

"Of course," said Harry, quickly. "But I don't understand what's going on between Zosia and Dominic. I thought they were best friends."

"That is something that I'm afraid the two of them will have to figure out themselves," said Serena.

To be continued


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Searching for the hero 06/07  
Author: Ceindreadh  
Fandom(s): Holby City  
Genre: Gen, hurt/comfort  
Characters: Dominic Copeland, Zosia March, Arthur Digby  
Rating: PG-15  
Summary: Will Zosia forgive Dominic, or has he gone too far?

Disclaimer. I don't own the Holby City characters, I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them in minty fresh condition when I'm finished.  
Notes: The problem with writing for a continuing show is that canon moves on. I've taken S16ep30 "my name is joe" – as my jumping off point

* * *

"I'm fine," Dominic had told Harry before he'd left the room. But in truth, he was feeling nothing like 'fine' as he lay in the bed. The whole incident had left him feeling very unsettled. The argument with Zosia had been bad enough, but being barely able to stand had brought home to him just exactly how serious his condition still was. The fall had physically shaken Dominic, and as reassuring and calming as Harry had been, being on the receiving end of a chest tube while fully conscious was certainly not a fun experience.

But the worst of the whole thing had been the look on Zosia's face as she had finally left the room. Dominic knew that he had pushed the bounds of their friendship several times before, the 'dead mother card' comment, the lies about his own mother. But he'd always managed to talk her round, to convince her that he wasn't really a bad person, to get her to forgive him. Now however, he wasn't so sure she'd even give him a chance to explain. "I'll be lucky if I don't find my things on the doorstep when I get out of here," thought Dominic. "Maybe Digby will talk her round for me." With that thought in mind, he settled back against the pillows and tried to rest.

* * *

Zosia was filling out a chart when Digby approached the nurse's station. "What is it?" she finally asked, after he'd stood there for a few minutes.

"I got a message from Dominic," said Digby. "He wants me to come see him after my shift."

"Fine," said Zosia, not looking up. "I'll see you at home afterwards."

"Zosia, what's happened?" asked Digby. "This morning you were all excited about your Psych project. Then you come back from visiting Dom, you've got a face like thunder, and you nearly bite my head off when I asked you how he was doing."

"Nothing happened," snapped Zosia. "Maybe I just finally realised that Dominic isn't who I thought he was." She looked up at Digby. "You should be happy. You've been telling me all along he couldn't be trusted."

"Wait, what?" said Digby. "What's he said now? Is this about his mother again? I know he said she was in Australia for a holiday and he didn't want to spoil it for her by telling her he'd been stabbed, but that's actually true. I mean, I phoned the supermarket she works for and they said she'd won the trip as employee of the year or something."

"It's not about his mother," said Zosia. She stood and gathered her notes together, "Okay, we had a fight, I walk away, and the next thing he's on the ground and his chest tube has 'conveniently' fallen out."

"Is he all right?" asked Digby.

"Oh he's fine, he's always fine. Whatever happens, Dominic comes up smelling of roses. Look, go visit him if you want, but he has played me for the last time." She walked away, leaving Digby staring after her.

* * *

"Digby!" Dominic face lit up when he saw who had opened the door. "I wasn't sure you'd got my message. Come in." He pushed himself up in the bed, grimacing slightly at the tug of the stitches in his side. "Sorry I can't offer you anything to drink. ICU isn't the best place to be a good host."

Digby came in and sat down. "You're looking better than I thought you would," he said without thinking. "Zosia made it sound like you were at death's door. Or maybe she just hoped you were."

Dominic's face fell. "She's still angry with me? I suppose she told you everything."

"Actually she didn't want to talk about it," said Digby. "Just that you'd had a fight but not what it was about..." He hesitated for a few seconds, not sure whether he should say anything more, "And she sort of implied that you might have pulled out your chest tube deliberately."

Dominic's jaw dropped open, "What? Why would she think something like that? Does she really think I'd deliberately hurt myself like that? What else does is she saying about me? Maybe she thinks I stabbed myself in the chest as well, just to make for a more interesting story." Dominic caught the look on Digby's face. "Oh no, Digby, please say she doesn't think that."

"She doesn't," said Digby, "But I..." Digby didn't really want to put into words what had been nagging away at him since Dominic's statement to the police.

"I don't believe it," said Dominic, "Why on earth would *you* think something like that?"

"Oh come on, Dominic," said Digby, "You lie to make yourself more interesting. And you were certainly cagey enough when talking to the police. So yes, a part of me *did* wonder if maybe you'd stabbed yourself in the chest because a stab in the back wasn't interesting enough for your liking."

"Well you'd be the expert on stabbing people in the back," snapped Dominic. "Did you really think I'd have been stupid enough to have caused myself so much damage, or did you just think I was such a bad doctor that I didn't know any better?"

"I guess I wasn't really thinking it through," said Digby, apologetically.

"I suppose I can't really blame you for thinking the worst." Dominic sighed heavily, "Any maybe, under other circumstances, maybe it's something that could have occurred to me. But do you know the one reason *why* I would never have done it then? Because being stabbed in the back just hurt so much...I thought I was going to die just from the pain...there's no way I'd have been stupid enough to stab myself after *that* happened."

"Please don't tell Zosia what I said," said Digby. "About me thinking that you'd stabbed yourself."

"Well since she's probably never going to speak to me again after her last visit went so well," said Dominic, "I don't think you have to worry about that." He looked at Digby's puzzled expression and quickly filled him in on what had happened, "I honestly didn't mean it about wishing I'd let her be stabbed. I mean, I *did* mean it but not like that."

"I think I understand," said Digby, slowly. "Really. And I'm sure that Zosia will forgive you for what you said once she's had a chance to think it over."

"Maybe," said Dominic, "But she'll probably never forgive me for messing up her psych study."

* * *

Digby closed the front door behind him and hung up his coat before going in to the living room. Zosia was curled up on the couch, a glass of wine in her hand.

"I went to see Dominic," said Digby as he sat down beside Zosia. There was no reply, so he continued, "He told me what happened. He's feeling pretty bad about what he said to you."

"Good," said Zosia, taking a drink.

"I think you should go and speak to him," said Digby, "Give him a chance to explain what he meant."

"You mean give him a chance to lie his way out of trouble again?" Zosia poured herself another glass. "No thanks. I'm done with him." She took a drink, "And I can't believe that you of all people are defending him."

"I'm not," said Digby, "I mean, I am...I mean." He took a deep breath, "I mean I'm not defending what he said to you, but I can sort of understand why he said it."

"You understand why he said he wished he hadn't stopped Lockhart? How he wished he'd let him stab me?" Zosia put the glass down on the table with a thump.

"Remember last year, when Chantelle and I got mugged?" Digby picked up Zosia's glass and took a drink from it to steady his nerves. "They hurt her, they barely touched me. And all the time it was happening, a part of me was wishing I had the courage to fight back, to stop them." Digby took a deep breath, "But another part of me was relieved that they weren't hurting me as well. Dom was stabbed...twice. He could have died; he's certainly been through a lot of pain. And when you're hurt that badly, you don't care about other people's pain, you just don't want it to be yours. When he said he wished he'd let you be stabbed...it just means that he wishes he hadn't had to go through that much pain himself." Digby shrugged, "Under the circumstances, you can't really blame him for that."

Zosia face was expressionless as she looked at Digby. Finally she spoke, "You know, for a surgeon, you make a pretty decent psychologist."

"Oh please don't tell Mr. Self that," said Digby, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "I don't want him thinking I want to switch specialities."

Zosia sighed, "I suppose it does make a lot of sense."

"So you'll go and speak to Dominic? Give him a chance to explain himself?"

"Maybe. I'll think about it tomorrow." Zosia took the glass back and finished it.

* * *

"And I am really sorry for what I said yesterday," said Dominic, his most penitent expression on his face. "You know I never meant to say anything to hurt you. It's just you were going on about me being a hero, and I knew I really wasn't a hero like you thought and I just lashed out." When Digby had left him the previous night, Dominic had promised himself that if Zosia did come back that he would tell her everything about that night in the staff room. And true to his word, he admitted his complete lack of self sacrifice in his actions. Now having finished his declaration, he looked intently at Zosia, trying to figure out what she was thinking behind that inscrutable mask of hers. "Forgive me...please?"

"I'll forgive you," said Zosia, finally. "On one condition."

"Name it."

"You let me profile you for my psych paper."

"Oh you're not still trying the 'have a go hero' thing," said Dominic. "Didn't you hear a word I just said?"

"Oh I heard everything," said Zosia, a smile on her face. "That's why I'm going to change my topic to a study on craven self interest under adverse conditions. With you as a subject, I'm sure to get a good grade!"

Dominic couldn't help but smile. "Friends?" He held his arms out

"Friends," said Zosia, smiling as she gave him a hug. "And Dominic, you are still a hero to me."

To be continued


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Searching for the hero 7/7  
Author: Ceindreadh  
Fandom(s): Holby City  
Genre: Gen, hurt/comfort  
Characters: Dominic Copeland, Adele Efanga, Sacha Levy, Harry Tressler, Serena Campbell.  
Rating: PG-15  
Summary: Dominic is out of ICU but still has an obstacle to face

Disclaimer. I don't own the Holby City characters, I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them in minty fresh condition when I'm finished.  
Notes: The problem with writing for a continuing show is that canon moves on. I've taken S16ep30 "my name is joe" – as my jumping off point

* * *

"Come on, Doctor Copeland," said Adele, carefully supporting him as they walked down the corridor. "Just to the end of the corridor and then back."

"Wasn't this supposed to be a short walk?" asked Dominic. "It feels...feels like I've done a marathon already! I thought I was supposed to be taking things easy."

"Ms. Campbell said you need to exercise if you want to get your strength back," said Adele, firmly. "It's only been five minutes."

It felt like an hour to Dominic, but he knew it had to be done. And at least he wasn't wired up to tubes and machines any more. Serena had removed his chest tube the day before, although not before asking him if he was sure he wouldn't like to take it out himself "Since you seem to have done a good job on it before," she had commented dryly. She'd then had him transferred to a step down ward and ordered him to start taking a little exercise. "Can't have you lying about all day now, can we."

"Yes, Ms. Campbell," Dominic had replied, dutifully.

"But remember not to overdo it," Serena had added, "You'll need to pace yourself, otherwise you'll end up back in ICU."

Remember how hard it had been to even stand up just a few days earlier, Dominic had been in no mood to overexert himself, but when Adele had shown up with orders to take him for a walk, he had reluctantly agreed. It had been difficult at first, but the relief of being up and about, albeit clad only in a hospital issue gown and robe had kept him going until he was halfway down the corridor.

"That's enough," said Dominic, stopping in his tracks. "I...I think I want to turn back now."

"Oh but we're nearly to the corner," said Adele. "Just a little bit further, yeah?" She tried to keep him moving, but Dominic, showing surprising strength, had pulled free from her grip and was already turning around and moving back the way they'd come. Adele shrugged, but turned and took his arm again. "You are looking a bit pale," she said as they returned to Dominic's room. "I'm sorry Doctor Copeland; I didn't mean to overtire you."

"It's...it's okay, Adele," said Dominic as she helped him back into the bed and tucked the bedclothes around him. "I...I should have turned back before then." That was true enough, thought Dominic as he gratefully accepted a glass of water from Adele. But it hadn't been simple tiredness which had made him falter.

"Well you rest now," said Adele with a smile. "I'll be back again tomorrow. We'll get you a bit further then, okay?"

Dominic forced a smile in return. The smile faded as Adele left the room and he lay back in the bed and sighed. He'd been halfway along the passageway when he'd suddenly realised that in a matter of minutes they'd be passing the staff room where he'd been stabbed.

He knew that he could have just told Adele the truth; that that was the last place in the hospital he wanted to go near. He knew that she would have turned around in an instant and brought him straight back to his room. But he also knew that it would have been all around the hospital before the end of her shift that Doctor Copeland had freaked out at the thought of going near the staff room. "I'll have to face it sooner or later," Dominic told himself. "Can't keep avoiding it, especially once I'm back at work. Besides, it's just a room..." But it didn't matter how often he told himself that, even just the thought of opening the door and stepping over the threshold, sent a chill down Dominic's spine. "I'll deal with it tomorrow," Dominic told himself as he settled into a more comfortable position on the bed and closed his eyes.

* * *

Sacha Levy was coming to the end of a long day and feeling rather peckish. Searching through his office had produced nothing edible and he was just about to give up and go back to his paperwork when he remembered that there had been a half full packet of biscuits in the staff room earlier. "They won't mind me 'borrowing' a few," he'd told himself as he walked down the corridor. "I'll replace them in the morning." Whistling cheerfully, he had gone to the staff room only to curse under his breath as he saw the by now completely empty packet sitting on the countertop. "Who does that?" said Sacha out loud. "Who leaves an empty packet of biscuits just sitting out?" Sighing, he crumpled the empty packet and tossed it in the bin. It wasn't until he turned around that he realised that he wasn't alone.

"Dominic?" said Sacha, surprise in his voice as he saw the F1 sitting on the ground.

Dominic, head bowed and arms wrapped around his knees was sitting up against the wall. He didn't look up as Sacha sat down beside him.

"You know," said Sacha, "I've heard that hospital beds aren't really all that comfortable, but surely they're better than sitting on a cold floor." There was no response from Dominic, so Sacha tried again, "Fancy a coffee?"

"No thank you," was Dominic's muffled reply.

"I'd offer you some biscuits, but somebody scoffed the lot."

"Mr. Levy," said Dominic finally looking up, "Could you please just...leave me alone."

"No Dominic," said Sacha, putting his arm around Dominic, "I don't think I can. So we can either sit here until somebody else comes looking for refreshments, or you can tell me what you're doing here." He felt Dominic sigh heavily before relaxing against him.

"I thought...I thought it would look different," said Dominic, finally. "But it's like nothing even happened here. I nearly bled out right here on the floor but it looks just the same."

"Did you think there'd still be blood on the floor?"

"Yes...no...I don't know. When I close my eyes...I can still see it...the blood...the knife..." Dominic shuddered involuntarily. "This afternoon, with Adele...I couldn't even walk past the door. But I knew I had to face it sooner or later." It had taken all of Dominic's resolve to get himself to the door of the staff room that night. And when he finally had summoned up the nerve to actually open it, his hands had been shaking so much that it had taken several efforts to key in the right code. Even though he'd looked all around the room before entering, to confirm that nobody was there, the sound of the door closing behind him had panicked him somewhat and he'd backed himself into the wall, only realising later that he'd ended up in the exact same spot as before. Unable to bring himself to move, Dominic had no idea how long he'd been there before he heard Sacha's voice.

"So you came back to face it alone? Dominic, I don't know whether you're very brave or very foolish," said Sacha. "Working in this place, I suppose you'd have to be both." Sacha sighed, "I know it can't have been easy, coming back to a place which caused you so much pain. And I wish I could tell you that this was going to be the end of it; that now you've faced your demons everything will be magically all right. Unfortunately life doesn't work that way. But you've already survived the worst of this and you need to focus on that. It *will* get better...and you have friends who are going to help see that it does." He squeezed Dominic's shoulder gently.

"Thank you," said Dominic, so softly that Sacha could hardly hear him.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Sacha spoke again, "Now come on, it's time you got back to bed. Unless of course you know where the biscuits are hidden in here?" he added hopefully.

* * *

With Sacha's help, Dominic made it back to his room without incident. He collapsed gratefully onto the bed and was barely aware of Sacha helping him out of his robe and tucking the bedclothes around him.

"Dominic?" Dominic forced his eyes open to see Sacha standing over him. "Next time, that is, if you do want to go back to the staff room again, you know you don't have to go alone."

"I know," said Dominic, "And...thank you." His eyes closed again.

"Good night, Dominic," said Sacha before leaving the room.

* * *

"You know this is quite the life," said Harry as he stretched out in the visitor's chair the next day. "Lying around all day, TV on tap, nurses to attend to your every need." He grinned at Dominic, "And I mean *every* need. I'm surprised more people don't get themselves admitted to hospital."

"If you want to swap places, you're more than welcome," said Dominic. "Just give me a scalpel and say where you want to bleed." He shifted position in the bed, revelling in the freedom of movement he now had. It wasn't just the physical freedom from the I.V. and the chest tube and all the machines he'd been hooked up to. No, there was also the freedom of knowing he wasn't going to be disturbed what seemed like every five minutes by nurses and doctors milling round. Not that it hadn't been nice to know there was help around whenever he needed it, but it was good to be able to have more undisturbed time to himself.  
Well, thought Dominic, undisturbed except for his visitors, and speaking of which. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of *this* visit?" asked Dominic. Not that he was really complaining about the company. Harry had proved himself quite companionable over the past few days, and he was certainly very easy on the eyes.

"Since when do I need an excuse to visit my favourite F1?" said Harry, "Although now that you mention it, there is this one nurse on this ward who I haven't had the chance to meet properly."

"What did I say about helping you with your love life?"

"That you'd be glad to be of assistance," Harry smiled at Dominic, glad to see the younger man in such good spirits. "And of course..." Harry caught the movement of the door opening and switched tracks with the ease of long experience, "And of course the removal of an inflamed appendix can be done by a laparotomy or a laparoscopic procedure. Oh hello, Ms. Campbell," he added, as Serena came into the room.

Dominic looked at Harry with something approaching admiration as Serena walked in.

"Don't let me interrupt your studying," said Serena, fully aware that whatever the topic of conversation had been before she'd opened the door, it was highly unlikely to have been a discussion on appendicitis. "But I come bearing good news."

Harry stood and pulled out a second chair for Serena to sit down on. "Thank you, Harry. Now, Dominic, Sacha has heard back from the medical council and they have agreed that should you pass your exams, they will give you an extended period of time to complete your required procedures and presentations. You will be allowed to move up to F2 level pending completion of said work, however, if you miss any more time, that will have to be made up at the end of your F2 year."

"So I won't get to call you FiFi again?" said Harry, "What a shame."

"Thank you, Ms. Campbell," said Dominic, "I really don't know what to say."

"Well don't think that you can take this as an opportunity to slack off," warned Serena. "You will still have a lot of work to do."

"You mean, *we* will have a lot of work to do," said Harry.

"True," said Serena, "But in any event, I think a small celebration is in order." She pulled a bottle out of the bag she'd been carrying and handed it to Harry. "Harry, if you'd do the honours," she said as she pulled out three glasses.

"I'd be delighted," said Harry. "Oh sorry, Dominic, no alcohol for you while you're still on your meds. Ah well, all the more for us."

"It's non-alcoholic, Doctor Tressler," said Serena, "You don't think I'd let Doctor Copeland miss out on his own celebration?"

Harry poured three glasses and handed them out. "So, shall we toast the start of a beautiful friendship?"

"Not sure I'd go quite that far," said Serena. "To a good working relationship for all the members of my team."

"To team Serena," said Dominic with sincerity in his voice, "Thank you, Ms. Campbell, for everything."

They clinked their glasses and then took a drink.  
"Oh that is vile," said Serena, nearly spitting her wine back into the glass. "I do apologize gentlemen; that is the last time I will buy cheap non-alcoholic wine. Dominic, the sooner you get back on your feet the better!"

"I'll drink to that," said Dominic with a smile.

The End


End file.
